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MCSG Employee Offers Advice on How to Help during the Pandemic

MCSG Technologies employee Julie L. has been sewing face masks in the Oklahoma City area during the Coronavirus pandemic. Julie shared some information on what got her started on sewing masks and offers some advice to those who are interested in helping.

  • What got you started on sewing masks?
    • I started to see in the news that health care providers were reaching out to the sewing community to make cloth masks so their N95 could be used multiple times. The cloth mask was not intended to be a replacement for the N95, just to make it last longer. I inquired if there really was a need in Oklahoma and was told by a nurse friend that their hospital would be out of masks in a few days, so I made enough masks to get them through a week. So far, I have made about 70 masks in about 3 weeks.
  • Who have you given your masks to so far?
    • I have given the masks to friends and family who are performing essential tasks.
  • What is some advice you would give to anyone who is interested in helping during this time?
    • My advice for anyone who wants to help is to jump right in and not to get overwhelmed with being perfect or the number you can make. I have friends who are cranking out 100 masks a week. Although I can’t do that, I took care of my one nurse friend and provided family and friends with a bit more protection. A great resource for me was the Relief Crafters of America Facebook page. They have patterns and tips to speed up the process as well as feedback from those wearing the masks. They already have a system to distribute nationwide with a wealth of knowledge and support. If you don’t sew, you can donate money to offset shipping. There is a group here in Oklahoma City that does the same on a local scale. I am sure that each community has similar groups. Each group needs support with logistics to manage the requests for masks, the donated masks and finally getting the masks to the requestor. Again, lots of ways to support even if you don’t sew… but if you do, just jump right in!
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